Field
The disclosed concept pertains generally to switchboards for power distribution systems.
Background Information
Switchboards or panel boards often include electrical switching apparatus mounted within the interior of an enclosure, as part of an electrical system (e.g., without limitation, power distribution system). Electrical switching apparatus, such as circuit breakers, provide protection for electrical systems from electrical fault conditions such as, for example, current overloads, short circuits, abnormal voltage and other fault conditions. Molded case circuit breakers, for example, include at least one pair of separable contacts that are operated (e.g., opened; closed; tripped open) either manually by way of an operating handle disposed on the exterior of the circuit breaker, or automatically by way of a trip unit, in response to such a fault condition. Some electrical switching apparatus such as, for example, some medium-voltage and low-voltage circuit breakers, can be relatively large. The circuit breakers may be supported within a draw-out frame, commonly known in the art as a cassette or chassis. The switchgear enclosure generally includes a number of compartments or cells, with each cell being structured to receive a corresponding circuit breaker.
In such switchboards, internal components (e.g., without limitation, bus bars and terminal lugs of circuit breakers) are typically exposed. This presents challenges to operators wishing to access the switchboard such as, for example, during tool change outs to change the feeds from several sources. In these situations, it is not desirable to bring down panels when changing, as panels feed many tools.
Thus, there is room for improvement in switchboards for power distribution systems.